PARKS Victoria gave Mornington’s “new” pier a soft launch on Saturday with an open invitation to the public to inspect the $15.3 million rebuild and enjoy a range of activities, including a free sausage sizzle.
Lending weigh to the historic event was the schooner Enterprize, a replica of the ship built in Hobart in 1830 and used five years later by John Pascoe Fawkner to bring settlers and provisions to what is now Melbourne.
The Enterprize entered the Yarra River on 15 August 1835 and moored at what is now William St.
The original ship was wrecked in 1847 on a sand bar off the Richmond River in northern New South Wales.
On Saturday passengers embarked on hour-long trips on the replica Enterprize as an admiring public, and their dogs, once again promenaded along Mornington pier.
By late afternoon, the pier was again populated by anglers re-establishing the best spots to cast their lines.
